Updated: January 2021

Excess deaths provide a more complete picture of the pandemic’s mortality

In April, the CDC began publishing data on excess deaths – the number of deaths each week in 2020 compared to the expected number of deaths in previous years. These data are broken out by race and ethnicity for each state. The full methodology from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is available in these technical notes.

By taking historical trends into account, excess deaths provide a more complete account of the true mortality from the pandemic relative to the official count of deaths directly attributed to COVID-19. Excess deaths take into account indirect deaths from the pandemic – for example, from people who were never tested for COVID-19 or from people who were unable to access medical treatment because of the pandemic’s burden on health systems.

A much higher share of excess deaths are attributed to COVID-19 in states that have been conducting a large amount of testing throughout the pandemic – largely concentrated in the northeast.

Relative to earlier in the pandemic, a higher share of excess deaths in the most recent wave were attributed to COVID-19. In late-March, fewer than half of all excess deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19. Even through the summer months, this share was less than 60%. By December, roughly 90% of all excess deaths were attributed to COVID-19.

The pandemic continues to disproportately burden people of color

A lower share of excess deaths were attributed to COVID-19 among Black and Hispanic communities, relative to the White population – even in the most recent wave of the pandemic. These disparities in excess deaths highlight the extent of mortality resulting from persistent and structural inequities in access to health care in the United States.

These disparities can be seen at the national level and across states – particularly among states with large Black and Hispanic populations.

United States

526,541 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 350,600 (or 67%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Alabama

10,204 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 5,947 (or 58%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Alaska

479 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 36 (or 8%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Arizona

17,759 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 8,056 (or 45%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Arkansas

5,737 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 3,365 (or 59%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

California

47,867 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 27,658 (or 58%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Colorado

8,653 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 4,384 (or 51%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Connecticut

5,346 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 5,392 (or 101%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Delaware

1,474 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 569 (or 39%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

District of Columbia

1,277 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 623 (or 49%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Florida

38,126 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 20,566 (or 54%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Georgia

17,603 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 9,231 (or 52%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Hawaii

656 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 137 (or 21%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Idaho

2,575 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,231 (or 48%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Illinois

22,384 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 15,640 (or 70%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Indiana

11,801 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 8,607 (or 73%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Iowa

5,335 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 4,238 (or 79%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Kansas

4,656 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 2,881 (or 62%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Kentucky

6,831 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 3,649 (or 53%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Louisiana

10,310 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 6,409 (or 62%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Maine

1,058 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 296 (or 28%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Maryland

9,970 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 6,129 (or 61%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Massachusetts

9,613 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 9,472 (or 99%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Michigan

20,155 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 11,626 (or 58%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Minnesota

7,846 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 5,115 (or 65%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Mississippi

7,046 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 4,595 (or 65%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Missouri

11,532 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 7,209 (or 63%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Montana

1,878 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,040 (or 55%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Nebraska

2,599 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,875 (or 72%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Nevada

5,727 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 2,725 (or 48%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

New Hampshire

1,273 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 654 (or 51%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

New Jersey

21,656 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 17,180 (or 79%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

New Mexico

4,085 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 2,121 (or 52%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

New York

19,209 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 15,100 (or 79%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

New York City

27,674 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 21,626 (or 78%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

North Carolina

8,236 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 3,562 (or 43%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

North Dakota

1,762 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,238 (or 70%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Ohio

20,555 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 12,736 (or 62%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Oklahoma

6,297 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 3,852 (or 61%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Oregon

3,584 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,133 (or 32%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Pennsylvania

19,166 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 16,527 (or 86%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Puerto Rico

2,229 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 2,847 (or 128%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Rhode Island

1,653 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,420 (or 86%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

South Carolina

11,342 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 5,113 (or 45%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

South Dakota

1,932 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,406 (or 73%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Tennessee

14,117 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 6,918 (or 49%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Texas

50,181 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 29,780 (or 59%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Utah

3,054 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,042 (or 34%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Vermont

497 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 79 (or 16%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Virginia

11,683 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 5,349 (or 46%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Washington

6,553 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 2,924 (or 45%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

West Virginia

2,069 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 1,329 (or 64%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Wisconsin

10,588 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 5,565 (or 53%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Wyoming

900 more people have died in 2020 relative to previous years. 318 (or 35%) of these deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19.

Technical notes

The charts above use excess deaths estimates based on the CDC’s predicted (weighted) methodology, which accounts for under-reporting from jurisdictions in recent weeks. Only data through the end of October is included. 2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates are used for the race and ethnicity representation in each state.